Wildlife and Wineries

I love wine tasting tours.

Australia is a nation well known for its wine, but being a uni student on the beach, we don't really take the time to taste and appreciate all that Australia has to offer. The hunter valley is one of Australia's most famous wine regions and is located just 2 hours inland from Sydney. Australia's climate changes pretty significantly as you travel (the country is as large as the United States...) and the Hunter Valley's soil and climate make it ideal for grape growing, apparently. The region is known for Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc wines which we tried at each winery in many variations.


Me and Abby with a large crocodile (no, its not real)

The tour was called "Wildlife and Wineries" so we began with, big surprise, FEEDING KANGAROOS! It's really fun to do, but I'll admit, the excitement dwindles a little the third time... The park we went to though is famous for its reptiles and spiders. In addition to petting Koalas and feeding kangaroos, we saw some venomous snakes, really huge turtles, crocodiles and alligators and some of the world's deadliest spiders. This is one of the places where they extract venom to make antivenom from the spiders... yeah, gross.

After leaving the Reptile Park, we visited four wineries and a cute little wine country town/tourist trap for lunch and chocolate. At each winery we tasted a few whites, reds, dessert wines, ports and a liquor or two. The first winery is famous for port wines (super sweet, lots of alcohol content, I'm not a fan), the second boasted it's unusual fruity blends (think Sav Blanc with a green apple flavor and something else that would be great with salad..), the third had an awesome sweet shiraz (the only sweet red we saw), and the fourth was liquor only - with a crazy little thing called "chili schnapps" which was a butterscotch schnapps with chili and rosemary.


Vineyards.

Click here for more pictures!

It was a long day, but a great one. Good food, good wine, great people... next time I've been told to go on a tour that visits the Blue Tongue brewery as well.

Rach

True Stories: Bangarra Dance

Bangarra dance is a type of native Aboriginal Australian dance that has gained recognition and popularity worldwide. We went to the Sydney Opera House to see a performance of "True Stories" by a Bangarra dance group. The play was broken into two major acts, the first depicting the story of traditional Torres Straight Islander people and the second the clash of western influence, (particularly atomic testing in the 1950s) on the Tjarutja traditional lands at Maralinga.

The dances were powerful, to say the least. The first act felt like traditional aboriginal dancing, depicting the dancers hunting, gathering, playing and exploring their land and sea. They were dressed in traditional paint and clothing made of grasses and looking somewhat stereotypical, but the dancing was incredible.

The second half was mesmerizing. The story was of the affect of western culture and the affect of atomic testing on the native people. The dances varied from traditional to 50s style to showing the physical torture of the testing on the native people. The image above is from this half of the performance. There was one piece where the light was shining just on the legs of the female dancers, we couldn't look away. The dances were so varied and all equally captivating, there are images on the groups' myspace site, if you'd like to take a look.

In my aboriginal Australia class we've talked a lot about the treatment of indigenous people of Australia from the 1780's until now. Current legislation in the Northern Territory is terribly discriminatory. The continued racism and inequality in this country is appalling and reflects the change from forced segregation to forced assimilation to forced 'self management' that has left the indigenous people in poverty, poorly educated and plagued with diseases .... much like the American Indian population in the US. It feels like Australia is about 75 years behind the United states in their treatment of these groups of people, and trying to understand what is being done about it is a frustrating thing. However, that's another story for another day.

The Opera House at night was stunning, the performance was unbelievable... overall one of the best nights here :)

xo, Rach

Asians can Salsa?!

Apparently, yes.

We stumbled on a Salsa club last week to find it full of Asian couples dancing to some serious salsa music (and drinking serious quantities of tequila). It messes with your mind a little, but was an overall very fun experience.

There is a huuuuge Asian influence in Sydney, understandable considering its proximity to Asia. My uni is probably about 70% Asian, with both native Australians of Asian decent and a lot of students who are simply in Australia for a few years to study and return back to their respective countries. The influence is a little stronger than I anticipated, but who can complain about great Thai food on every corner?!

... back to homework and rainstorms.

Rach

Sydney Design Festival

For the past few weeks, the Sydney International Design Festival has had exhibits all over the city. The Powerhouse Museum in Darling Harbour is home to most of the exhibits and Abby and I made our way there to check out the excitement.

First of all, it is an incredible museum, way more than we had the energy to check out, and the exhibits for the festival were really cool! The design festival is an annual event in Sydney that celebrates innovative design in clothing, art, home design, housewares, textiles, appliances, environmental action, inventions, graphics, wool... items that impact our lives every day.

The festival website describes the activities this way: This year the Sydney Design team at the Powerhouse Museum has selected a festival program that will show you where design is making a difference in our lives, how designers are addressing the bigger issues of social and environmental responsibility, and provide a unique insight into the creative processes of designers and architects. Plus there’s the usual feast of celebrations, good humour and creative discourse that make Sydney Design a must on the annual festival calendar.

We saw an interactive design critique by an entertaining flamboyant guy in a goofy outfit, walked around for a few hours, saw some great pieces of art and design, and made it back to Coogee in time for a nap, dinner and movies with our flatemates.

Another a great day in Sydney.

~ Schwags

C'mon Swans!

The Sydney Swans - the city's Australian Football League team. We went to a game last Saturday night at the Olympic stadium! One of my American friends is in a class with one of the Swans players and he got us 'players tickets' for the game!! We had little passes that let us into the 'members section' and we got to sit wherever we wanted in the section. We chose seats about 15 rows up from the grass towards one side of the 'end zone.' Close enough to see the player's faces and far enough to see what was really going on around the field.

Aussie football is a mix of American football and soccer. Points are scored by kicking field goals (they have to be punted) through posts at either end of the oval shaped field. 6 points for kicking it between the two center posts and 1 point for kicking it within the outer posts. The ball is oval shaped - rounder and smoother than an American football - and can be moved by either running it forward, tossing it to a teammate who is behind, punting it forward, or passing it forward to a teammate by punching it forward like an underhand volleyball serve. If the ball is kicked forward and successfully caught, the teammate who caught the ball is given the opportunity to kick the ball again without competitors in the way. It took us the first 30 min quarter and the help of an eight year old sitting in front of us to figure that much out. Its kind of crazy to watch. If you're really interested on the details, heres the wikipedia article on Australian Footie.

The game was a ton of fun, the Olympic park is very impressive, and we're now trying to figure out the rules for rugby...

Go Swans!!!

;) Rach

Good Shabbos?! No, GREAT Shabbos!!

I'm a few days late on this post, but it is very worth mentioning.

Last Friday night I went to the Coogee Synagogue for services. It's about half a block from my Jamie and Abby's apartment and about a 10 minute walk from mine. Abby and I went together and met some family friends of hers who were in town for a Bar Mitzvah (not at Coogee, but they were staying here anyway). Anyway, at the front gate I immediately meet the rabbi - I'll have to update you on his last name some other time, it has a lot of syllables and starts with a K - he was incredibly welcoming and invited me and Abby to Shabbos dinner.

The shul is very unassuming from the outside and small-ish on the inside. It's an orthodox shul, as most are in Australia. Apparently, the Jewish community here is composed of Chabad-esque orthodox, modern orthodox and secular Jews. I'm told that there is one reform shul in Sydney and it more resembles and American conservative synagogue.

All that aside, I was perfectly at home in this place. There was a balcony women's section but also a main-floor level section for women (I'm assuming for times when its not super crowded, like a average Shabbos evening). It's modern looking - white walls, etched glass for the railing upstairs, comfy seats.... and a very modest group for the service. There were probably 30 people inside and about a million children playing in the 'social hall.'

After services, Abby and I spent a few more minutes talking with the rabbi and rebetson and then went to her family friend's apartment for Shabbos dinner. It was a fantastic night, we talked a lot about things to do in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra while we're here. We made some great connections and I cannot wait to go back to the shul, hang out with the rabbi, meet his family and be part of the Coogee Beach Jewish community. We were told that there are usually a bunch of students around each semester... we'll see how it goes!

Laila tov!
Rachel

Taronga Zoo!

The Tarongua Zoo is located in North Sydney, just across the harbour from Circular Quay, where the Opera House is located. To get to the zoo, you must take a ferry across the harbour, with spectacular views of the Sydney skyline, Opera House and bridge.

The zoo is built into the side of a hill and you begin with a cable car ride to the top and work your way down through the exhibits to see all of the animals. There are animals from all over the world, obviously with a focus on Australian wildlife and general conservation of endangered species. One of my favorite parts were the giraffes! Their enclosure is situated in such a way so that you can see the animals with the Sydney skyline as the background. I took a lot of pictures, it was pretty cool. Click here to see them!

If you're ever in Sydney, I highly recommend the zoo, its a perfect mix of nature and city - I loved it!

~ Rach

A little of this, a little of that...

A lot has happened since I last sat down to write a blog post --- I guess having no time/energy to just sit at my computer means we're doing a great job taking advantage of everything here!! I have a moment now to catch up on a few fun things from the past week-ish, what I don't write now I'll be sure to write about soon!

Paddy's Market:
This is a market in Chinatown that could not me a more quintessentially Asian market if it tried. At the bottom floor of a shopping mall the market is jam-packed with booths selling clothing, souvenirs, dried fruit, postcards, jewelry, shoes, towels, nail polish, massages, knock-off jerseys, handbags, aboriginal art... and one whole end of the market is just fruits and vegetables with the sellers yelling prices and tossing produce around the crowded stalls. It's incredible. The plan is to head back there a little sooner to the end of my time in Sydney to get lots and lots of goodies for my friends :)

Comedy Club:
We got free tickets to a comedy show last Wednesday night! A bunch of us went out to a comedy club near Darling Harbour and got to see three stand up comedians while feasting on Chinese food. The comedians were hilarious - lots of jokes about Americans and some funny comments about the beach we're all living on. One comic sang parodies of a bunch of American songs, he made fun of the singers but also had totally random lyrics! There was definitely something about Aussie roadkill...

The Tarongua Zoo and amaaazing Shabbos dinner I went to this weekend deserve their own posts, as does tonight's adventure at the Sydney Swans footie game. Coming soon.

We spent today on the beach, doing a whole lot of nothing and soaking up the Australian sun. It's winter still, I think, and today it was about 75 degrees and perfectly sunny out. I couldn't be happier.

It's late, and time for bed before breakfast with the girls in the morning and a day at Bondi beach watching the craziness of the annual "city to surf" run. Followed by dinner with my flatmate Allie's mom! (then Monday will be a study day... I think it's about time)

Sweet dreams ~
Rachel

Earth from Above

"Earth from Above" is an exhibit of photographs that has been on display near the fountain at Darling Harbour and will remain there until the end of December, making it part of Sydney that I will always connect with my time in Australia. The tagline is "An aerial portrait of our planet - towards sustainable development"

The collection of over 200 photographs is free for viewing to the public and is accessible 24 hours a day. The image are all taken from "above" - not necessarily aerial views, but elevated views of the world from the photographer in a helecopter. There are pictures of natural and man-made wonders from all over the world. Each photograph is accompanied by a small world map indicating where it was taken, a caption about the political or environmental situation affecting the area and one fact about the environmental affects that first world nations have on the earth. After 30 photos it can get a little overwhelming, but you can always go back.

Australia is very focused on environmental action, so the exhibit couldn't be in a better placed. Sydney is in a drought right now and water-consciousness is one of the easiest signs of the country's focus on the environment. Everyone here carries permanent shopping bags to and from grocery stores, they talk about greenhouse gases and carbon footprints. Australians are aware that they have not had a great environmental record in the past (more than 80% of their energy came from coal burning, not so good for the ozone) and they are actively working to improve their image and their impact on the world.

The images cover an expanse of wonders, and most contain people, so you can see just how large the figure is that you're looking at. There are images from the Florida Everglades, Yankee Stadium, New Orleans after Katrina, algae farms in Indonesia, shantytowns in South America, trees in Kenya, the Amazon river in Brazil, cotton farmers in Africa, Nudist colonies in France, salt riverbeds in Morrocco, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, Icebergs in Antarctica, elephant migration in Botswana, the Great Barrier Reef and Frazier Island in northwest Australia, the blue lagoon in Iceland.... its never ending.

I can't post images here, but if you click here, you can see one of the pictures (for now its the one from Yellowstone park) with its caption and there are links to other parts of the website, its pretty incredible. The tiny images on the bottom border are also pictures from the exhibit, they're tough to see, but the website as a whole has a lot of information on the project and about worldwide sustainability.

Enjoy!

Rachel

Katoomba!

We spent the day in a town in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney called Katoomba. From the maps and basic reading about it, you'd imagine it's a quaint little town with art galleries, cafes, bakeries, tourist traps, probably a pub or two (this is Australia...), and easy access to some great hiking trails - including the "three sisters" rocks and the infamous cable car ride. Everything would look like cottages and have white picket fences and cobblestone roads... OK now erase that image and try this one on for size: You get off at the train/bus station and look at a bunch of 'tour the blue mountains' tourist traps, across the street there's a pub, a newsstand, and a bunch of mediocre looking restaurants. You realize that the only way to appropriately travel around this town is by trolley, which picks up at each of its 24 stops once each hour. The sun will be down by 5pm and its gonna be a cold day. The hiking trails comprise about 6 of the trolley stops, and you have been convinced to check out 'scenic world,' which sounds like a trashy amusement park, but is the home of the steepest railway in the world and is supposedly pretty cool. Ok got it? Here goes.

The train we were supposed to take this morning wasn't running, so after a fun bus ride, we finally made it to Katoomba, to find the scene described above. While there may have been 11 of us along for the ride - most with pretty strong opinions about the 'best way' to do everything - we got started on a hike around the "Three Sisters." They are a rock formation within the Blue Mountains that is one of the most popular tourist sites in the area. The hike included a trip down the steepest stairway I have ever seen - it was a little overwhelming, but overall a really fun walk... after the stairway and a few more kilometers, we made it to the Katoomba Scenic Railway. It is the steepest railway in the world (at its steepest the incline is about 57 degrees) and was built to facilitate the coal mines in the valley. The mines have been closed for years, but the railway and cable car are pretty incredible. We grabbed some sandwiches and then made our way to the Katoomba Falls, we only had time for one other hike before the sun set and the trolley left us stranded on the mountain! Around sunset we made it back to the bus, the train, another bus, the grocery store and our apartment.


It's been a long day, but overall pretty fantastic!!!

Click here to check out the pictures!

I feel like every post ends with a promise for more, so as always, I won't disappoint :)

Cheers!
Rachel


PS ---- If you'd like a fancy shmansy Australia post card (complete with wombat postage stamp... well, at least the first few are, we'll see if they have other flavors of int'l stamps) send me/post your address!!